In the June 25 issue of Rassviet there is a reprint of an article by an American correspondent in Peiping, China, about the Rerich Expedition to Asia, now somewhere in the Gobi Desert. This article is filled with false rumors and mean slanders directed against the Expedition which was equipped and sent to Asia by the United States Department of Agriculture. Mr. N. K. Rerich, famous Russian painter, scientist, and traveler has been invited by the United States Government to head this Expedition. The lies and insinuations contained in this article cast, quite undeservedly, a dark shadow upon the activities of the United States Department of Agriculture, headed by Mr. Henry Wallace, who personally selected Mr. Rerich as the best man to head the Expedition. The purpose of the Expedition is to explore the Gobi Desert and other parts of Central Asia for grasses and plants which can thrive in dry arid climates, and which could be successfully transplanted to the arid districts of the United States.

Not long ago Rassviet published a very interesting article under the headline, "The Rerich Expedition Moves Through Gobi Desert". This article contained much useful information about the Expedition, giving all the details concerning it: its plans for the future; its system of work in the field and in the laboratory; its accomplishments up to date; its collection, thus far made, of the seeds of various grasses. The article ended with the names of members of the Expedition, headed by N. K. Rerich. This article has also appeared in the English and Russian press of the Far East, which fact could not have escaped the attention of the American correspondent in China.

In order to establish the truth and dispel any possible doubts in the mind of readers, it is necessary to throw more light upon some of the points raised by the American correspondent in his article on the Rerich Asiatic Espedition.

The Rerich Expedition arrived in Japan in May, 1934, for a short stay in that country. Mr. N. K. Rerich, the head of the Expedition, and his son 3Dr. J. N. Rerich, a member of the Expedition, were very cordially received by the Japanese authorities and by private persons of high social and educational standing. There were many receptions accorded Mr. Rerich as a world-renowned painter.

From Japan the Expedition went to Manchukuo, according to the previously planned itinerary, not because the Japanese military authorities forced it to leave the country, as the correspondent from Peiping insinuates in his article. While in Manchukuo, the Expedition moved from place to place, stopping here and there for field work and for the gathering of herbs and seeds, which, together with detailed reports had been periodically sent to the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D. C. During his stay in Manchukuo, Mr. Rerich was received by the ruler of Manchukuo, who displayed great interest in the work of the Expedition and in Mr. Rerich's international peace organization for protecting the treasures of art and culture against the ravages of war. The monarch of Manchukuo expressed a desire to belong to Rerich's peace organization and to establish a branch in 4Manchukuo, like the branches this organization has in many countries in Europe and America.

The Rerich Expedition then went to China, stopping for some time in Peiping to replenish its supplies. After crossing Mongolia, the Expedition reached the Gobi Desert, its most important stop and final destination. A large number of stories, articles, and reports appeared in both the English and the Russian press of the Far East commending the work of the Expedition and the personality of its head, Mr. Rerich.

The American correspondent in China states in his article that he does not know whether the Expedition uses the American flag as a symbol of the country it represents. We should like to know since when and why any scientific expedition, financed and equipped by the Government of the United States, has not been anxious and willing to use the flag of the United States as the most direct and natural identification mark of the nationality of the Expedition. This last remark of the "American" 5correspondent in Peiping forces us to doubt his truly American origin and his American citizenship.

Mr. N. K. Rerich is a world-famous painter, scientist, and writer, to whose name an art gallery in New York is dedicated, containing over one thousand of his canvasses. Not long ago he was highly honored at a special celebration at the White House in Washington, arranged by President Roosevelt with the co-operation of the representatives of twenty foreign countries. The celebration was held to honor his great work as peacemaker among the nations. Mr. Rerich does not need apologies and explanations however ignorant or maliciously disrespectful the "American" correspondent in Peiping may be of the rank and renown of the man he dares to criticize so nastily in his article.

The attention of the world is again attracted to Mr. Rerich, who now marches at the head of his Expedition through the wastes and deserts of Central 6Asia in search of grasses and plants suitable for transplanting into the districts of the United States exposed to drouths which bring misery and suffering to hundreds of thousands of people every year.

In conclusion, we wish to express the desire that the American correspondent in Peiping who sends his material to the English-language press will be more careful as to what he writes and as to his sources of information. If he wants true information about the personnel and the activities of the Rerich Expedition, he may apply for it to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., which receives regularly complete reports of the whereabouts and the progress of work of the Expedition.

Zinaida V. Lichtman, Vice-President,

The Rerich Art Gallery,

New York.

June 27, 1935.